Wrestling

Sacramento City Earns Wrestling State Title

FRESNO - Although the overall team champion was decided prior to the individual championships, the 2015 CCCAA State Wrestling Championships at Fresno City College had plenty of excitement. Of the 10 weight classes, four teams won two individual championships, with two other schools winning one. Sacramento City College won their second state championship in the last three years with only one individual champion. They finished with 158 team points and outdistanced the second place host Rams, who won two titles and concluded with 137 team points. Last year's state champion, Cerritos, also won two titles and finished with 116 team points, with Palomar College in fourth place with 106.5 points and two individual champions.

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

125 Pounds - Gio Castillo (Mt. San Antonio) def. Julian Gayton (Fresno City), 8-6
In a battle of #1 vs. #2, Castillo was able to take an early lead and hold on for the victory. Looking more comfortable when he and Gayton were even, Castillo turned a 4-2 first period lead into an 8-5 advantage with three second period takedowns. Gayton had a good chance of evening the score with :25 seconds left in the match, but Castillo was able to elude him for the championship.

133 Pounds - Jonas Gayton (Fresno City) def. Anthony Vargas (Cerritos), 9-1
Able to accomplish what his brother wasn't able to, Gayton controlled #2-ranked Vargas from the outset. Takedowns in each of the three periods, and then control on top were enough for Gayton to finished the season ranked #1 in the state.

Looking to be holding a comfortable 3-1 lead late in the third period, Bennett was called for a pair of one-point penalties in the final three seconds of the match, which sent it to overtime. Neither wrestler scored in the 1:00 overtime, with the match moving to sudden victory. Bennett, who was the less aggressive of the two, was able to score a reversal with :11 seconds in the first sudden victory period. Romero recorded an escape point with :03 seconds remaining, but it wasn't enough to pull out the win.

The way the first period went for Sandoval, it looked like he was on his way to a comfortable win. He led 6-0, which included a four-point near fall. However, Sidner earned a two-point and four-point near fall in the second period to take an 8-6 lead with 2:00 minutes remaining. He followed that with a pair of four-point nar falls in the third period, as he scored 15 straight points to record the win.

Competing with an injured knee that he suffered in the semifinals, Negrete was still able to be the aggressor, as he earned takedowns in each of the three periods. He turned a 3-1 second period lead into a 6-1 lead when Regama was penalized a point for stalling and Negrete followed with a takedown late in the period.

In the only weight where teammates faced off against each other, Forzani trailed 3-2 early in the match before he was able to gain control. In what turned out to be a "catch and release" match, Forzani recorded five takedowns to go along with three near falls to record the major decision.

Concluding his career as a two-time state champion, Nasar surrendered a quick takedown, but scored a quick reversal and went on to earn a two-point and four-point near fall in the span of 15 seconds to a 6-2 lead. By the end of the first period, it was one more four-point near fall that gave Naser a convincing 12-3 lead. He added a pair of takedowns in the second period to help post the convincing win.

In one of the most dominant first periods of the entire state championships, Graves registered six takedowns and a pair of near falls en route to an 18-5 lead after three minutes. He ended the match just 14 seconds into the second period with a takedown for the technical fall.

Looking to finish what he wasn't able to last season, Martinez recorded a rare pin against the #2-ranked Brewer. Martinez, who was ranked #1 in the state, opened up a 4-1 lead against the long and lanky Brewer in the second period. With time running out, Martinez was able to get a late reversal and then finished it off with the pin.

The biggest upset of the finals came in the last match, as #4-ranked Hayes handed #1-ranked Gomez his first loss of the season. Gomez, who lost in the finals last season to teammate Robert Chism, was taken down in the first period, but was able to quickly escape. Both teams earned escape points in the next two periods, but Gomez was unable to get Hayes on his back. He did get Hayes down once, but it was near the out of bounds line, which negated his last chance for the win.